Clutch



(No Model.) 2 streets-sheet 1.

H. OSSWALD & C. F. VIEI'LLARD.

' CLUTCH.

No. 578,023. Patented Mar. 2, 1897.

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H. OSSWALD O. vFL VEILLARD.

CLUTCH.

No. 578,023. Y Z Patented MM.V z, 1897.-

UNITED STATES IPATENT OFFICE.

HERMAN OSSWALD,

OF BROOKLYN, AND OELESTIN F. VIEILLRD, OF

WOODHAVEN, NEW YORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 578,023, dated March 2,1897.

Application filed April 2 5 1 8 9 5.

To all whom it 'may concern.-

Be it known that we, HERMAN OSSWALD, residing in the city ofBrooklyn,county of Kings, and CnLnsTIN F. VIEILLARD, residing atVoodhaven, Long Island, in the county of Queens, State of New York,citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Clutches, of which the following is a speciiication,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof.

This invention relates to that general class of devices which areintended to effect at the will of the operator or attendanttheconnection or disconnection of two moving` parts 'of a machine, sothat one of said parts may be brought to rest while the other is allowedto continue its movement. The particular mechanism which We have chosenfor illustration as an embodiment of the invention is represented asintended for application to stamping-presses or other machines of likecharac-l ter in which a heavy driving and fly wheel is carried by one ofthe shafts of the machine, but which should be disconnected therefromwhen it is desired to bring the shaft to rest in order that the stoppingof the shaft may be more easily effected. It will be understood,however, that the invention is not restricted in its application to sucha use.

The object of the invention is to produce a device of the characterindicated which shall permit one of the moving parts to be brought to apositive stop whenever required, shall permit quick rengagement of theparts, shall provide for long-continued use without requiring repairs orthe substitution of new parts, and shall enable any of the workingportions of the device to be removed and replaced, if necessary,withoutdisturbing either of the two moving parts which are to be connected ordisconnected, the particular arrangement also securing a practicallyunbroken wearing-surface between the two moving parts, while the contactof the surfaces for rengagement may be substantially in the medial planeon both sides of which the weight of one of the two movable parts isabout equally distributed, both of which are obvious mechanicaladvantages.

The description which follows will be con- Serial No. 547,110. (Nomodel.)

ned to the construction shown in the drawings, while the essentialfeatures of the invention, Whether embodied in the form shown or in someother form, will be pointed out vin the claims hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, Figure l is aView, mainly in central section, but partly in elevation, illustratingthe application of the invention to a shaft and Wheel, such shaft andwheel being shown in part only to save space and representing, whetherin the form and relation shown or in some other form and relation, thetwo parts of a machine which are to be connected or disconnected. Fig. 2is an end view of the same, partly in transverse section. Fig. 3 is aview similar to Fig. l, but showing a slightlydifferent arrangement.Fig. i is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the arrangementrepresented in Fig. 3. Fig.

5 is a detail view of the key and switch shown in Fig. l. Fig. 6 is adetail View illustrating a different arrangement of the switch. Fig. 7is a detail view illustrating more clearly than in Figs. 1 and 3 therelation of the key, switch, and shaft, the latter being shown intransverse section.

The shaft A or one moving part of the machine is shown as mounted in asuitable bearing B and is adapted to receive upon it the wheel or othermoving part C, the latter being adapted to rotate freely on the formeror to be connected thereto to rotate therewith, as hereinafterdescribed. The Wheel O may bemounted to rotate. between a cap D upon theend of the shaft and a plate E, through which the shaft passes and whichis preferably arranged to remain in one position. The cap D ispreferably secured detachably to the shaft A, as by a bolt or screw d,and the plate E constitutes a switch housing or support, as hereinafterdescribed.

In the shaftA preferably are formed a longitudinal keyway a and one ormore-circumferential grooves a a', and in the keyway ais placed alongitudinally-movable key F, having its outer edge iiush with theperiphery of the shaft and having in such outer edge one or moretransverse slots or notches ff, adapted to register when the key is in acertain position with the grooves a a'. The key IOU F is forced in adirection to cause the slots or notches f f to stand out of line withthe grooves a' d' by any suitable means, as by a spring f', which may beseated in a recess .f 2 in the key and may abut against the cap D. Meansare also provided for thrusting the key in the opposite direction tocause the slots or notches therein to register with the grooves in theshaft. For this purpose the ends of the key are beveled off, as shown inFig. 5, both ends being formed alike, so that the key may be turned endfor end, and a switch or cam G is supported in the housing E and issuitably shaped, as shown in Fig. G, to en-Y gage the end of the key Fas the latter is car ried by it and to thrust the same back against thepressure of the spring F, therebycausing the slots or notches f f toregister with the grooves CL a'. The switch is preferably under thecontrol of the operator, being pressed normally into the path of the endof the key by a spring g, which may be placed in a recess g of theswitch and may be seated upon a shoulder or plate e, formed on orcarried by the housing E,while a rod g2 is extended from the switch Gand may have an eye g3 for the convenient connection of a suitablehandle or treadle, ifV such be required, whereby the switch may be drawnand held out of the path of the key.

It will be obvious that the sliding key is best carried by that one ofthe two members of the mechanism which is to be brought to rest, andtherefore that the coperating parts of our device should be carried bythat one of the two members which is to continue to move afterdisconnection has been effected. In the form of mechanism shown,therefore, the key is carried by the shaft A and the parts of the devicewhich cooperate therewith are carried by the wheel C. This coperatingportion of the device is in the form of a projection or projectionswhich are adapted to enter and to move in the circumferential grooves ac', except as the movement may be obstructed by the interposition ofsolid portions of the key F. As represented in Figs. l and 2, they maybeformed as dogs H H,Mwhich are inserted through slots c cin the hub ofthe wheel C and are retained by pins h h, so that they may be removedreadily at any time without disturbing the wheel. The two ends of eachdog are exactly alike and suitably formed for engagement with the keyF,whereby four contact-su rfaces are provided on each dog and the periodof usefulness correspondingly prolonged.

The operation of our device, as shown in Figs. l and 2, will now bereadily understood. So long as the switch G remains in its normalposition, held by the spring g, the key f will be thrust back as it isbrought into contact with the switch, and will cause the slots ornotches ff to register with the grooves a a' of the shaft A, therebyremoving all obstruction from the paths of the dogs H H and permittingthe wheel to continue its movement, while the shaft is brought 'to rest.Should the operator desire to have the connection of the wheel and shaftcontinue, as would be the case if the shaft is not brought to rest, hewill draw the switch away from the path of the end of the key, therebypermitting the latter to be held by the spring f in its normal position,blocking the grooves o. a and compelling the wheel to rotate with theshaft. The provision of several dogs or sets of dogs H H, as shown,insures the quick rengagement of the two members in whatever positionthe wheel maybe when it is desired to effect such rengagement.

The means employed for bringing the shaft A or its equivalent to apositive stop, if such means are required, may be wholly indepen dent ofthe devices for disengaging the driving-wheel from the shaft, but in thearrangement represented we prefer to make the switch G serve thispurpose also. Accord- `ingly, as clearly represented in Fig. 7, the

shaft A is formed with a recess or notch CL3, which is adapted to beentered by the end of the switch G as the latter continues to moveupward after the key F has been thrust back to disconnect the wheel,thereby preventing positively the further movement of the shaft untilthe switch is withdrawn. The continued upward movement of the switchbeyond the point at which it moves the key far enough to bring thenotches therein into line with the dogs is taken advantage of to cause aslight additional movement of the key for the purpose of eifecting aclearance between the dogs and the sides of the notches, and of therebyavoiding the clicking which would occur at every revolution of the wheelupon the shaft if the key had been moved just and only far enough toeffect disengagement. To this end the notches in the key are madeslightly wider than the dogs, and the switch G is formed withsupplementary incline or cam surface g4, which as the switch continuesits movement engages the end of the key and thrusts the latter slightlyfarther.

It will be obvious that many variations in the form and arrangement ofparts may be made without departing from the spirit of our invention.Thus, as shown in Fig. G, the switch may be held in a position to efectthe release of the wheel at every revolution, being rigidly secured to aplate t. The Vexact position at which the release shall take place maybe varied by making the plateE adjustable, as by mounting the plateloosely on the shaft or bearing and forming therein a concentric slote', through which a bolt c2 may be passed into the bearing or frameworkto clamp the plate in adjusted position.

In Figs. 3 and 4 is shown a form similar to that shown in Figs. l and 2,but differing in certain details. Thus the shaft A has but onecircumferential groove c2 and the key F a single notch f3 to correspondtherewith. The dogs H H are in the form of cylindrical plugs, which areseated in the inner ends of IOO IIO

holes. c c', drilled in the hub of wheel C. Smaller holes c2 c2 may bedrilled in from the opposite direction to meet the holes c c for theintroduction of a suitable -tool to facilitate the removal of the'plugsH H when necessary. There may also be provided means for holding the keyF permanently against the pressure of the spring f', as by extendingfrom the key a screw-threaded rod f4 through the cap D and applying jamnuts f5 f5. Likewise the switch G may be held permanently out of thepath of the end of the key by a sleeve e3, which is threaded in theplace e and may be adjusted so that the eye g3 or a suitable stop on therod g2 may rest against its end and hold the switch away from the shaft.Various other modifications will suggest themselves in View of theforegoing, and it will be understood that the invention is not to berestricted to the precise construction and arrangement shown.

That we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

l. The combination with a wheel and a shaft mounted to rotate thereon,said shaft having a circumferential groove in its surface and the hub ofthe wheel having a recess opening from its adjacent surface, of a dogmounted in said recess and projecting from the surface to move in thegroove in said shaft, said dog having both ends alike and beingreversible in said recess and a sliding part mounted in a longitudinalgroove in the 4 shaft and adapted to be moved to obstruct or to leaveunobstructed the path of said projection from said wheel, substantiallyas shown and described.

2. The combination with two members of a mechanism to be connected ordisconnected and adapted to rotate in contact, -the one with the other,one of said members having a projection or dog and the other memberhaving a notch or recess, of a sliding key carried in the adjacentsurface of the second member and having a notch and adapted to be movedinto the path of said projection or key, a cam or switch which ismounted on the stationary frame of the mechanism and with which the keyis adapted to be brought into contact in its revolution, said cam orswitch having a supplementary incline or cam-surface, and means to movesaid cam or switch into the path of said key and into the notch orrecess in the second member, whereby the key is first moved todisconnect said members and then further by the supplementary incline toeffect a clearance between the side of the notch of the key and saidprojection or dog, substantially as shown and described. Thisspecification signed and witnessed this 17th day of April, 1895.

HERMAN OSSWALD. CELESTIN F. VIEILLARD. In presence of- W. F. PRESLEY, J.A. WILLIAMS.

